About Us

Western Grinding Co., Inc. was founded in 1960 by members of the Thompson family.  At the time of its founding, Western Grinding Co., Inc. was one of the few grinding facilities in North Texas. Consequently, the company achieved early success due to the industrial services demand that was created by the Vietnam War and the emergence of Texas Instruments.

In order to satisfy an ever increasing workload, Western Grinding Co., Inc. hired several employees throughout the 1960s.  One of the employees hired in 1967 was Johnny Garcia.  Johnny had recently graduated from Ennis High School in Ennis, Texas.  After high school graduation, Johnny attended the National Tool & Die trade school and interned at Southwestern Gage. Johnny worked as a grinder and machinist under the tutelage of company founder, Lee Thompson. In March of 1973, Johnny Garcia was promoted to Foreman of Western Grinding Co., Inc. Unfortunately Lee Thompson died later that year. Johnny continued to work as the Foreman for Western Grinding Co., Inc. and Murl Thompson, the widow of Mr. Thompson, assumed his executive responsibilities. After running Western Grinding Co., Inc. for over a decade, Murl Thompson decided that it was time to retire. After seventeen years of employment, Johnny Garcia purchased Western Grinding Co., Inc. in February of 1984.

Through over thirty years of ownership and almost fifty years of employment, Johnny has worked on everything for everybody. Johnny Garcia’s knowledge and reputation have enabled Western Grinding Co., Inc. to grow into the company that it is today.  Western Grinding Co., Inc., the company that spent most of its early years doing work for defense contractors, now spends equal time doing work for building products manufacturers, beverage/food producers, energy companies, civil projects and more.  Even though the customers have changed, the dedication of Johnny Garcia and his employees have not.